GW-1 & GW-2 and related aspects of Statewide Rules 13, 14, 9, 46, 99 & 100 Rick Behal, P.G. August 2020 1 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Table Of Contents • Who is the GAU • What does the GAU do • Water classification • The Application (Form GW-1) • Attachments • Capitan Reef • Surface Casing Estimator 2 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Who We Are • Oil & Gas Division – Technical Permitting • Groundwater Advisory Unit (GAU) • Injection Permitting and Support • Environmental Permits and Support • Engineering Unit 3 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
What We Do (1 of 2) • Groundwater Determinations: – SWR 13: Set and cement sufficient surface casing to protect all usable quality water strata (BUQW) – New Drills, Injection, Re-entry, Recompletion, P&A, H-15, O&G Water Supply (W-1 if deeper than BUQW) • Geologic Isolation (H-1, W-14) – No injection is allowed in Underground Source of Drinking Water (USDW)* – Depth of confining clay or shale below BUQW/USDW 4 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
What We Do (2 of 2) • Cathodic Protection and Microseismic wells – CP (SWR 99) and MS (SWR 100) – Required if depth is >30 feet – W-1 required if CP/MS well exceeds protection depth – Submit well schematic of CP/MS well with W-1 – GW-1 for CP/MS wells cannot be used for other purposes • Special Projects – Capitan Reef (BEG) – BRACS/ASR – Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) 5 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Water Classification • Superior Quality Water (SQW) < 1,000 ppm – Good tasting drinking water • The Base of Usable Quality Water (BUQW) < 3,000 ppm – Protection depth as define by SWR 13 • Underground Source of Drinking Water (USDW) < 10,000 ppm – No injection allowed in the USDW* * Aquifer Exemption or EPA concurrence 6 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Water Board Letters • Why do we call them Water Board Letters? • Texas Board of Water Engineers established 1913 • 1950 Order required operators to obtain a TBWE letter 7 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
GAU Tools and Techniques (1 of 2) The GAU uses Geographical Information System (GIS) – Operator Provided Information – Other Government and NGO Web Resources – Legacy Cloth Maps and Well Files 8 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
GAU Tools and Techniques (2 of 2) • Texas Water Development Board – Water Data Interactive 9 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
How do we Protect? • Provide Depths for Surface Casing, Cementing, and Plugging • Locate Geologic Isolation For Injection Wells (H-1, W-14) – Depth of confining clay or shale below USDW is required 250’ Below BUQW with 100’ contiguous confinement 10 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Casing and Cement (1 of 2) • SWR 13 requires that surface casing protect groundwater as stated in Groundwater Advisory Unit (GAU) letter (Form GW-2) – Surface Casing • Protects usable-quality water from drilling/completion process • Extra protection against leaks during production – Cement • Prevents annular migration of fluids • Prevents corrosion of casing • Isolates formation 11 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Casing and Cement (2 of 2) • Three layers of protection: surface casing, production casing and tubing 12 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Application (Form GW-1) • Requests for Groundwater Determinations can be made one of two ways – Use the RRC On-Line System – Download a PDF form on the GAU Website • Email the completed GW-1 form to gau@rrc.texas.gov • Send the completed GW-1 form through regular mail 13 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Menu and User Guide • My Applications (Status) – Check application status – “Draft” means not submitted • Search for previous filings • New Application • User Guide 14 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Reason for Filing • Important for H-1 and W-14 because determination will include the USDW necessary for UIC permit application 15 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Areal Extent • Areal Extent – May request Radius, Section, Abstract, Lease… – Provide additional information in “Remarks” (ex: specify well API numbers to be included) – Extent depends on hydrogeology & topography 16 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Location Information • GPS coordinates for surface location • GIS tools for identifying wells and plotting coordinates • Coordinates and survey calls consistent with other RRC filings (RRC GIS, W-1, H-1, W-14, etc.) 17 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
RRC GIS Public Viewer • GAU webpage links - Using the RRC Public GIS 18 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Creating a Scaled Map • GAU webpage links – Creating a Scaled Map • A map is required with all application 19 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Attachments for H-1 and W-14 • Additional info is required for H-1 & W-14 – H-1: Include the Form H-1A – W-14: Include Form W-14 and a representative well log • GAU issues “no harm” letter for W -14 in addition to the GW-2 Determination 20 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Log Submission • Four ways to submit well logs – Attach to application (Form GW-1) – Digital Well Log Submission* – Refer to log already available via RRC GIS* – email or USPS mail in the hardcopy* (* Note in GW-1 Remarks) 21 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Payment (1 of 2) • Hit the “Next” button at the bottom of the page to accept the terms and pay. • If “Save” – Return via Menu/My Applications/Draft 22 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Payment (2 of 2) • Check the “Accept” box then the “Payment” button. • Remember to return to the application after payment confirmation to submit. Otherwise GW-1 remains in “Draft” status (not submitted) 23 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Payment Confirmation • “Print Confirmation” here (now or never!) • Click on “Return” to go back and finalize submitting the GW-1 24 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Application Status • If an application is returned, “Edit and Resubmit” to make changes to the application and resubmit. 25 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Summary • Filing online helps expedite • No Special Characters (!@#$%^&*) or Spaces • Chrome Browser recommended • Map/plat – Info consistent with GW-1/W-1 • More data favors the desired outcome • Shout out for more data (shallow log data) • Confidentiality • Rig on Location!!! Call Us… 26 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Special Projects Capitan Reef 27 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Capitan Reef (1 of 3) • Located in West Texas Permian Basin and South East New Mexico • Present in Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Pecos, Ward, and Winkler Counties 28 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Capitan Reef (2 of 3) • The Reef contains fresh water but no oil – Important Hydrogeologic formation of the Permian Basin – Classified by the TWDB as a Minor Aquifer of Texas 29 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Capitan Reef (3 of 3) • Request logs (shallow) data only) to help locate reef • Capitan Reef added to SWR 13 Geologic Formation List to be reported on Completions Reports (Forms G-1/W-2) 30 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Surface Casing Estimator (1 of 4) • SCE provides operator with an estimate of casing depths • Prepared in cooperation with the RRC and BEG 31 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Surface Casing Estimator (2 of 4) 32 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Surface Casing Estimator (3 of 4) 33 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Surface Casing Estimator (4 of 4) 34 Railroad Commission of Texas | June 27, 2016 (Change Date In First Master Slide)
Recommend
More recommend
